Friday, October 24, 2008

A strange thing is happening in the Gr 10 PAT final report: The learners are copying the data/advertisements for hardware/software they find on the Internet. It is meant to be a report - they have to rewrite the information on the hardware/software in their own words. They have to change the person or tone! If they just copy a section off the Internet and I pick it up they will get 0 for that section. They are enjoying the topic!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

My Gr 10s are working so hard on their PAT about computers and the disabled. They had problems getting their questions correct but that has now been sorted out.

Yesterday at the gym all the disabled parking bays were occupied by able-bodied males (not gentlemen).I will not mention what I think of them!

I had to take my Father out for supper last night. He is 85 and will not use a wheel chair although he is what could be called disabled. I have managed to get a disabled parking ticket.The only place where we could go to eat was at a shopping centre as that is the only place where there are managed parking bays for the disabled.

The PAT has made me more aware how challenging life for the disabled is.I think we should try to make the learners more aware and considerate of others in this exercise.

Reminded the learners what had to handed in on Friday next week. - Spreadsheet with all the data from the survey. Information collected on 6 things – how they work, advantages, disadvantages, etc. Database of records.

Most of the learners collected their survey forms and started working on putting the information into Excel. This was interesting.Many first started writing down all the options the people had filled in which took a long time to type.I reminded them of the SportShirts spreadsheet done in Theme 3 (page 189) and the DresscodeQuest spreadsheet (page 317).They then changed their spreadsheets using codes.Look at what Dinika and Kareesha have done so far.Look at their code worksheets.

A few learners are collecting information and highlighting the important bits on the computer.One silly child started formatting the information correctly – this is not needed now. The learners must just collect relevant information.

A few learners have started collecting information for their database. The Copy/paste feature is so useful.Collecting the information is going well. Viewing it on a report has required moving the fields and labels so it can be viewed nicely. When there is a long field and it cannot be seen properly, I have helped by right clicking on the field, Properties, Can grow, Yes – and the text appears in 2 or 3 lines as required.

I am continuing to walk around the whole time monitoring and giving advice.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The learners are busy filling in survey forms. A few learners have started putting the information from the forms into Excel. A few stupid learners put the survey information in Access – I then helped them export the data from Access to Excel.

A few learners are collecting information for their databases.

I walked the room giving guidance where necessary.

I kept the PowerPoint I used earlier on the data projector screen to help some learners who still do not know what to do.

My Grade 10 learners are currently busy with templates, pages 231-243. They made a letterhead for their homes. Their homework this week is to install the letterhead on their home computers as a template. To prove to me that they did install their letterhead as a template, they have to make a screen dump of the new document dialog on a letterhead document.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

How do schools with economically disadvantaged learners cope with CAT?Those learners have probably not used the computer before starting CAT.How are these learners meant to get up to speed in 3 years of lessons where they use the computer for I period a day?They cannot!The LO talks about ‘Operational knowledge’. Learners cannot get that knowledge unless they operate a computer!May I suggest that such learners do a subject such as computer literacy in grades 8 and 9 in order to expose them to computers before starting CAT in grade 10.

Headmasters must appoint people to teach CAT who are able to ‘teach’ and have knowledge of computers and the Office Suite.I have become aware of a number of schools where the teachers need upskilling in teaching and/or computer skills.We cannot expect our learners to achieve good results if the teachers do not have the office competencies.

When is there going to be a minimum skill requirement to teach CAT such as Advanced ICDL or a university course?.

How many universities offer an in-service qualification in CAT?Very few!Where are teachers meant to get training?The subject advisors cannot be expected to do it as well as their own jobs. National Education did a wonderful job by providing training from TUT but many more people need training and on-going training.

Why do schools offer CAT when they obviously do not have the infrastructure to do so?How many schools have Internet access which forms such a large part of the work, or a printer, scanner, digital camera, data projector, networking staff, etc.

This subject is NOT too difficult and does not need to be watered down. What is needed are other things to make it function better. This one subject, if learnt, is a superb vehicle to uplift and empower people, especially in disadvantaged communities.

WHY USE DEL.ICIO.USCuts down on online clutter to deliver more relevant bits of information.Makes it easier to find desired information again.Allows users to make their list of tags and sites available to (and searchable by) either a closed community of individuals or all other web surfers.

HOW DEL.ICIO.US CAN BE USED IN EDUCATIONStoring links that might be lost to time, scattered across different browser bookmark settings, or distributed in emails, printouts, and Web links.Tagging can offer new perspectives on one’s research, as clusters of tags reveal patterns (or absences) not immediately visible by examining one of several URLs.Finding people with related interests can magnify one’s work by learning from others or by leading to new collaborations.Creating multi-authored bookmark pages can be useful for team projects, as each member can upload resources discovered, no matter their location or timing. Tagging can then surface individual perspectives within the collective.

WHAT A TEACHER CAN DOGet information to students on different topics and have students subscribe to RSS feed. Organize resources for courses and subjects they teach, which is useful if a teacher teaches more than one class or subject. Create accounts for workgroups or entire classes with each student in the group having the password to the account so he or she can add bookmarks.

LIMITATIONSCan be seen as a rejection of the search engine status quo in favour of tools that are both created by the community and beneficial to the community.Traditional publishing made evaluation of material simple – was done by ‘authorities’. With del.icio.us new democratic format. Which is better – collective voice of public or of expert academic?Need tagging standards so there can be real sharing but benefit of tagging is that colloquial or community meaning can be attributed to tags.

ACTIONMy students will learn to use deli.icio.us as their bookmarks are not kept in their profiles on a network! They work at home and school and need their bookmarks! They need to collaborate to work effectively.